Global Voices » Tetum

Video Highlights: Identity, Refugees, Conflict and Open Technology

Juliana Rincón Parra — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 03:33:09 +0000

This section aims to showcase interesting and recent posts in Global Voices that show the many ways in which videos are helping people tell stories all around the world. You can follow the activity by regions in our YouTube channel or by clicking on the regional header links.

East Asia

For our Special Coverage page on Languages and the Internet comes an article about the different languages of East Timor. This next short film shows us the importance of receiving education in the mother tongue and the innovative Education Policy for Multilingual Education that East Timor is adopting.

Sub-Saharan Africa

In the post ‘Mali, Niger: Tuareg Voices Barely Heard Over the Sounds of War ‘, a video amplifies the voices of the Tuareg:

In Kidal, a town in north-eastern Mali, an unofficial number of Tuareg people marched to claim the autonomy of the Azawad region on November 1.

In ‘Kenya: Life in Dadaab, the World's Largest Refugee Camp‘ we look through the eyes of different aid organizations the complexities of life in Dadaab, a refugee camp receiving more than 1,400 people every day:

Central Asia and Caucasus

In Armenia and Azerbaijan, video is being used to improve understanding of the complex issues dividing the people of both nations. We linked to this insightful blog post on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict as seen through YouTube videos. It included this next video, which shows an interesting experiment on both sides of the border. In the video, a taxi with a camera records passengers reactions to the taxi driver's musical selection: he plays Azeri music in Armenia and Armenian music in Azerbaijan. The passenger's comments have been captioned in English.

You can visit our Special Coverage page on Caucasus Conflict Voices to learn more about the region's situation. To read more about the role of video in the conflict, visit ‘Armenia-Azerbaijan Dialogue Through Film‘ and its second part, ‘More Armenia-Azerbaijan Dialogue Through Film‘ will provide extra information.

Latin America

Global Voices Author and Lingua Editor in Spanish Juan Arellano has been interviewing different Latin American experts. In this one he spoke with Santiago Hoerth of the Codigo Sur project about open technology and Open Software:

In another interview, he spoke with attorney and Creative Commons regional representative Carolina Botero and asked her to give her opinion on piracy.

East Timor: Investing in Creativity and Culture

Janet Gunter — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 20:44:54 +0000

East Timor is known for its material, musical and dance traditions. Celebration of “culture” was a crucial part of its resistance to Indonesian occupation from 1975 to 1999, and East Timorese independence has seen a number of emergent cultural projects. But something that goes overlooked is a strong culture of craft and “making” with locally available materials.

Enter a new project called “Tatoli ba Kultura“, meaning “Passing on Culture”. The objective of the project, after extensive research and preparation, will be to support the development of a school of creative industries:

The project aims to create an institution to conserve and protect indigenous culture but also to bring creativity to an educational level in order to create innovation.

The coordinator of the project, David Palazón, is an artist who hails from Barcelona, Spain. He says:

Passing on culture

By chance I came here [to East Timor] to have a break with my career, do some volunteering in my field, one thing led to another.

He has been crisscrossing the country with his team researching Timorese material and performance culture, and posting fascinating videos, images and audio on the Tatoli ba Kultura “media map”, which is fast becoming a great reference.

Some of the most compelling videos are of musical instruments which are region-specific. Take for example this video of a musical instrument called Rama from Ataúro Island:

The Timorese context is quite specific, argues Palazón:

Kultura is not quite the same as we understand culture in the western world. For Timorese, culture is all those things that comes from the past, it's a reference point to understanding where they come from. My most common question when I do fieldwork is: Why do you do this like this? And the reply is always the same: ‘Because it is the way our ancestors used to do it, and it has been passed on from generations.' Obviously they have many influences from Indonesia, China, Portugal, etc … which are also rooted in the inside of the culture and are in practice totally embedded.

He says, in relation to innovation:

Traditionally speaking, Timor is still very much a country dependent on subsistence agriculture, the economy outside the capital is very much dependent on the family, their goods, what they can exchange, their family members and their incomes, and how these are distributed among who they choose in relation to their own traditions and beliefs. So in a way it is very conservative - not politically speaking - but because changing things implies a serious risk that many people cannot afford […] Nevertheless inside the traditional system there are people who are more progressive.

Ultimately, Palazón hopes that a school of creative industries would among other things generate employment through the rise of a “creative class”, increase small business development, and boost tourism.

Tatoli ba Kultura has the support of Griffiths University in Queensland, Australia and a number of institutional donors. Palazón paraphrases Griffiths Professor Tony Fry, who says, “Timor has two national resources: oil and culture. Oil will not last forever, on the contrary, culture will last forever.”

East Timor: Mysterious Shooting Incidents

Janet Gunter — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 10:03:26 +0000

Does East Timorese politics “use arms for competition (…) more than the competition of ideas”? Columnist with weekly Tempo Semanal Filipe Rodriguês Pereira questions [Tet] who was behind mysterious shooting incidents across the capital Dili last month. They occurred just after the UN announced the end of its current mission in 2012, also year of a Presidential election.

East Timor: Arts and Creative Industries in Focus

Sara Moreira — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 20:29:06 +0000

With the main purpose of launching the future Academy of Arts and Creative Industries of East Timor, a series of cultural events and an international conference are taking place in Dili until the 17th of July. The organization's website Tatoli ba Kultura includes a media map featuring unique works by Timorese artisans.

East Timor: Polemic Payment to “Miss World” for Work as Spokesperson

Janet Gunter — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 20:48:54 +0000

On the blog of East Timorese weekly Tempo Semanal, controversy erupted over a leaked memo indicating the government's payment of US$300,000 to Australian Caroline Pemburton, former Miss World, for her services promoting East Timor as a tourist destination.

East Timor: Konis Santana, a Humble Guerrilla Hero

Janet Gunter — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 10:02:52 +0000

Like any country born out of a protracted armed resistance, stories in East Timor of division from within the resistance are various, and quite potent. But one guerrilla figure who appears to have a powerful and unifying appeal is Konis Santana, who never lived to see his people gain independence.

Santana in his underground shelter. By José Sequeira, Arquivo Museu da Resistência Timorense.

On the anniversary of his death this week, Timorese newspaper Tempo Semanal reported [Tet]

Ema lubun bo'ot ida halibur aan iha Mertutu dezde hodiseik (10/03) hodi hanoin hikas loron 11/03/1998 iha ne'ebe rezistencia Timor nian ba Ukun rasik aan lakon ninia lider di'ak ida saudozu Nino Konis Santana. Saudozu Nino Konis Santana mate iha ninia abrigu fatin iha Mertutu iha loron ne'eba no hakoi iha kalan hodi subar husi atensaun indonseia ninian.

A large group of people met in Mertutu from yesterday (10/03) to remember the day 11/03/1998 on which the Timorese resistance for independence lost its great leader, the deceased Nino Konis Santana. The deceased Nino Konis Santana died in his place of shelter in Mertutu during the day and was buried at night to hide from the attentions of the Indonesians.

His Tetum wikipedia entry states

Tan Xanana TNI sira kaer nia iha fulan Novembro 1992, Ma'huno Bulerek Karathayano sa'e nudar komandante FALINTIL. Konis Santana tama nudar membru Komite Politika Militar. Iha fulan Abril 1993 Ma'huno mos TNI kaer no hadadur nia tan nee Konis Santana sa'e nudar komandante foun FALINTIL nian.

When the TNI [Indonesian military] captured Xanana [Gusmão, resistance leader and currently Prime Minster] in November 1992, Ma'huno Bulerek Karathayano rose to become commander of the FALINTIL. Konis Santana rose to become member of the Political Military Committee. In April 1993 Ma'huno was also captured and so Konis Santana rose to be the new commander of the FALINTIL.

Santana led the armed resistance until his premature death, mostly basing himself in a small village in the western district of Ermera. He himself was an easterner from near the island's eastern tip, where the language and culture is quite different.

Since independence, Santana has been recognized by East Timor's political elite and by foreigners as an important figure. The first government of East Timor named its first national park, in pristine rainforest where he grew up, after him.

Recently Tempo Semanal newspaper published a piece of video footage of Santana on its blog, previously unavailable to a wider audience. The video shows Santana meeting with a Japanese solidarity activist who repeatedly made his way to visit FALINTIL in the jungle.

This video tribute (with many views given in 2009 Timor had the last internet access in the world), gives a little flavor for how some Timorese continue to celebrate him:

Perhaps what is most fascinating about Santana is the way in which he has become a part of folk mythology, and is quite important to at least one quasi-religious group in rural East Timor. Some have begun to refer to his possible reappearance, in a kind of messianic way.

While officially Santana is thought to have fallen and hurt himself, which along with existing health problems, is believed to have later led to his death in hiding, there is a feeling of “mystery” surrounding his death especially due to his night-time burial. This continues to trouble some, like this commenter “Darwin” in Bradford, UK:

well i don't really know what is going on right now, but i would like to ask those guys in the government, Who killed Konis? Is he really dead? Why? Where? Who going to answer all these question? well, i got to tell you guys, there is a mistery [sic] behind it.

That question received 29 responses from all over the world. Keibere in Sydney responds:

I am not going to ask anybody who killed him, it is all part of the plan of the big man, upstairs who made all of us, that is GOD, one dead is the same , as the other one, there is no difference between Kony Santana, and another Timorese.

Part of Santana's continued appeal is in fact a recognition of his humility. By living in amongst the people in an occupied mountain village, he was perceived as a servant-leader. So quite probably, Santana would have agreed with Keibere and been quite surprised with the cult of personality that has developed around him after his death.

Santana typing in a shelter. By Comissão para os Direitos do Povo Maubere, Arquivo Museu da Resistência Timorense.

Two books have been published about Santana in recent years. Well-respected Portuguese historian José Mattoso published his biography a couple of years ago, based on documental sources and interviews in East Timor. And just a couple of months ago, reknowned journalist Jill Jolliffe published her account Finding Santana, which blogger Patrick Allington describes as

a terrifically blunt but often quite lyrical recounting of her clandestine 1994 trips to East Timor to interview then East Timor guerilla commander, Nino Konis Santana. I commend the book: it’s uncomfortable reading but it’s also a genuine page-turner […]

A new generation, that never lived through the Indonesian occupation, can come to know Santana through these books and the through Archives lovingly restored by a team coordinated by Mattoso [Pt] and from the video archives of Max Stahl.

All photos used with permission from the East Timorese Resistance Archive & Museum.

East Timor: Why is Transparency Important?

Sara Moreira — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 07:05:05 +0000

Curt Hopkins, from the blog ReadWriteWeb, comments on the Timor Leste Transparency Portal [en, pt, tet], recently launched by the Timorese Government. Hopkins raises some questions on the relevance of financial transparency in Timor's context, and calls on readers to discuss it.

East Timor: Affordable telephony and collateral outcomes

Sara Moreira — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 06:25:05 +0000

Lemi Soares, from the blog IT Forum [tet], shares a video from Linux Conference Australia 2011, where he presented Dili Village Telco - a pioneer open technology deployment that aims to provide affordable telephony and to promote the creation of sustainable businesses for local people.

East Timor: Rains threaten food shortage and disease

Janet Gunter — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 04:03:21 +0000

This year East Timor has not experienced a normal dry season. Much of the country has had rain all year, apparently a result of “La Niña” (related to the ”El Niño” weather phenomenon). The capital Dili has repeatedly flash flooded. Local news outlets have reported both crops destroyed by rains, and even more worryingly that farmers have not planted this year in many places, as they are not used to preparing fields in the rain.

Farmer shows a spoiled rice crop. Photo used on CC license by Flickr user United Nations Photo

East Timor at the best of times is a net food importer, not able to produce surpluses to support city dwellers, and with a “hungry season” between crops. But this year, the situation is quite dire.

Mercy Corps aid worker Jim Jarvie explains

Normally, families prepare for up to two months of limited food in January and February between harvests, but this year the exceptional weather has meant they have already been suffering from lack of food for several months, with the next harvest still four months away if they are lucky. […]

To exacerbate the problem, the roads that link these vulnerable communities with the capital city, Dili, are crumbling down the steep slopes as excessive water slides the roads. sometimes down hundreds of feet, into gullies. There is little to no support for these weakening families in increasing isolation. And they have little voice.

Blogger The Dili Insider provides a simple photographic reminder that for the past years in this season, East Timor has found itself in this situation, waiting for ships with imported rice to arrive.

Since 2006, the government has been importing and subsidizing rice. In previous years, there have been scandals related to these rice contracts (see Global Voices' 2009 coverage of “The Ricegate scandal”). It is not clear how much of the imported rice has ever reached these isolated rural communities with food deficits - most appears to have gone to town and city dwellers.

And given the serious situation facing Timorese farmers, the issue of food imports and access to imported food has taken center stage once again.

Opposition blogger Tatoli continues to criticize the ruling coalition [Tet] on its rice importation policy:

Maibé foos mak tama iha Timor-Leste tonelada ba tonelada mós Povu Timor-Leste barak mak la hetan foos ne'e nia oin. Povu Timor-Leste kiak tiha ona, foos mós folin karun tan fila fali, enkuantu Sr. Germano da Silva Lobato (ministra Lucia Lobato nia la'en) sa'e karreta Hummer bá-mai hodi soe rai-rahun ba Povu ki'ik-kiak.

But the rice that comes to Timor, ton after ton, many Timorese people never even see it. The Timorese people are already poor, the rice prices go up again, while Mr. Germano da Silva Lobato [Minister of Justice Lucia Lobato's husband who got rice importation contracts] goes around in a Hummer kicking up dust all over the meek, poor people.

Economist blogger Professor Almeida Serra believes that inflation in recent months is linked to the availability of subsidized, imported rice. He wrote in late October [pt]

Para a subida da taxa de inflação terá contribuído, nomeadamente, o quase desaparecimento do mercado do “arroz do MTCI”, subsidiado, sendo substituido por arroz importado comercialmente. Por exemplo, a taxa homóloga de inflação dos “cereais, raízes e seus produtos” — onde se inclui o arroz e que representa 13,1% do cabaz do IPC — foi, nos meses de Junho a Setembro, respectivamente de 14,1%, 16%, 11,1% e 11,3%.

The near disappearance from the market of the subsidized “MTCI [Ministry of the Tourism, Commerce and Industry] rice”, substituted by commercially imported rice, has contributed to increased inflation. For example, the rate of inflation for “cereals, tubers and their products” - where rice is counted, representing a 13.1% of the basic needs basket - was from the months of June to September respectively 14.1%, 16%, 11.1% e 11.3%

Bloggers report changes in the government's approach to rice. Lita at “Notisia Negosio” (Business News) writes [Tet]

Iha fulan Outubru 2010 MTCI sei hamenus intervensaun foos iha merkado, tamba fo hikas ona k’nar ba empresarios sira hodi nune’e MTCI sei hare deit ba assuntos emergencia no sei atende deit iha fatin nebe’e deficil acesso ba mercado ( areas remotas ou rurais)

In the month of October the Ministry of the Tourism, Commerce and Industry [MTCI] will reduce its intervention in the rice market, because it has given this back to businesspeople so that the MTCI can focus on emergency matters and attend to those who live in places with poor access to markets (remote and rural areas).

One thing is clear: there will be little margin of error in food supply in East Timor over the coming months.

Mosquito-borne illness

Another potential impact of the rain is an increase in diseases transmitted by mosquitoes like malaria and dengue. The local media reported an upsurge in children being hospitalized in the month of October [Tet], with both patients and hospital officials citing the unceasing rains as a possible factor.

The World Health Organization's regional tracking of dengue revealed that as of September in East Timor, more than two times as many cases had been reported than in all of the previous year. Their briefing states:

The exact reason for the apparent upsurge in reported cases in different countries is not completely clear, but weather patterns, especially relative increases in rainfall are very likely to be an important feature.

The Timorese Ministry of Health has set up a team called Kondemal to “look at the extraordinary prevalence [of disease] or outbreaks that can happen in the rainy season”. The Ministry announces on its blog [Tet]

Ekipa Kondemal sei foti asaun seriu ba kazu extraordinaria nebe mosu iha tenpu udan. Liu husi servisu konjunta entre Ministeriu Saúde liu husi Saúde Distrito, Ho autoridades local hodi hatun no halakon moras ne’e liu husi atendementu hanesan Fogin (Rega susuk), Abatisasi no intervensaun seluk mak hanesan liu husi atendementu SISCA ne’ebé hato’o husi Meja 4.

The Kondemal team will take serious measures against extraordinary cases that arise in the rainy season, through joint work between the central Ministry of Health and District Health institutions, with local authorities to reduce and get rid of these diseases through services like fumigation, abatisasi [use of abate powder in stagnant water], and other interventions like those treatment through the SISCA [mobile health clinics].

Robin Taudevin's 2006 photos of malaria and dengue patients at Bairro Pite Clinic are a dramatic reminder of what an impact these diseases have, particularly on children.

East Timor: Ministry of Health reviews conditions

Janet Gunter — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 12:30:39 +0000

The Ministry of Health published extensive notes from field visits to its facilities in 8 of East Timor's 13 districts on the Ministry blog [Tet]. The notes reveal challenges like lack of running water, medicine supply, transport and basic equipment. Citizens comment on the findings, mostly anonymously.

Timorese on Facebook

Keta Haluha — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 02:59:16 +0000

In the last year and a half there has been something of a surge in the use of the social media by Timorese. This is due less to an increase in users, but an increase in use by existing users, both Timorese inside and outside the country. Although there have been dramatic drops in internet access prices by Timor Telcom in the last 6 months, which suggests more people might be getting online.

While blogs are proliferating, Facebook appears to be increasingly the platform of choice.

This should come as no surprise given that Timor Leste's neighbour Indonesia, has the fourth largest number of facebook users in the world, with 14,000,000 as of December 2009. One source states that Indonesia is third, with only the US and UK exceeding it.

Indonesians are also the fastest growing group of facebookers in the world with a 1,500% increase in 2009. Despite the fact that Indonesia invaded Timor in 1975 and brutally occupied it until 1999, resulting in over 150,000 deaths, its social and economic ties to Timor remain deep and entrenched.

Internet penetration in Timor-Leste is still very low when compared to other countries. According to Internet World Stats Timor-Leste has a population of 1,131,612, while the capital city has a population of 166,903 ('07). However, it states that TT says that there are only 1,800 Internet users as of Sept/09. This means that only 0.2% of the population has access to the internet. For background one can read “Timor: 9 years of Internet, still one ISP and a huge digital gap” by Global Voices Contributor Sara Moreira

However, with an increasing population of Timorese, who have one of the highest birth rates in the world, both inside and outside the country Facebook use is clearly on the rise. With 4,000 students in Indonesia there appears to be direct correlation.

The Media - first in.

Timorese media have been among the most active. One of the first major users of Facebook in Timor-Leste was the weekly newspaper Tempo Semanal, its Facebook site launched in late 2008 jumped to over 2,000 friends in its first 6 months and now tops 5,000. No doubt it might be alot more if it got more serious about social media. One thing is for certain Tempo Semanal and its editor Jose Belo, have lead the charge on web media in Timor-Leste, with aggressive reporting and an active online presence through the web-blog version of the print paper and a big facebook following.

J. Belo as FALINTIL 20 Aug 1996 - attack on Indonesian Army (ABRI).

J. Belo as Editor of Tempo Semanal, and Facebook Fanatic

Tempo Semanal on Facebook - with permission from Tempo Semanal

Other media outlets have followed suit. CJITL - Centru Jornalista Investigativu Timor-Leste has a Facebook fanpage with 673 fans, Timor News Net has over 1,728 friends. There is even Tau Matan ba TVTL / Media Watch group.

Opposition Politics

Soon after the media got involved in spreading their message via Facebook politicians realised its power. Probably the first, and certain one of the most active on Facebook has been the Member of Parliament Arsenio Bano (Vice-President of the Opposition party FRETILIN). Bano's Facebook is used to highlight Parliaments work as well as promote anti-government news and information as put forward by the Opposition. It has proved popular, and now numbers over 5,000 friends in less 12 months of use.

Member of Parliament Arsenio Bano on Facebook - with permission.

Bano Facebook photo - Parliament Defence and Security Committee Questions Police Commander Longuinos Monteiro - with permission.

Other Opposition Members of Parliament are also getting in the Facebook game to play politics; FRETILIN Member of Parliament Jose Teixeira, with 1,109 friends, aired a police brutality video on Facebook ending up causing a storm in Parliament in December 2009. FRETILIN MP Osorio Florindo da Costa is also a facebooker. TATOLI, a FRETILIN leaning political blog has recently taken to posting facebook comments online - in this case relating to accusation and counter accusation to and from the Timorese Foreign Minister. Meanwhile Agio Pereira, the Government's Chief Spokesman keeps a much lower profile on facebook.

Social Media and Political Celebrities

Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has a fanpage with over 2,436 fans.

Chief of the Defence Force Maj-General Taur Matan Ruak has a fanpage with over 3.600 fans. Some people in Timor-Leste are hopeful the General will stand for President one day.

Deputy Prime Minister Mario Carrascalao has a page here with 615 fans, and a counter page “SAY no to Mario Carrascalao” fanpage with over 1,705 fans here.

Interestingly, now deceased rebel leader, Maj Alfredo Reinado has a fanpage with just 101 fans.

Below is just a very very small sample of Timor-Leste related Facebook activity, groups, fanpages etc

Business

East Timor Business, East Timor Tourism, K-LINK INTERNATIONAL, BRANCH TIMOR LESTE, Timor Leste Management Society, Peace Dividend Marketplace Timor-Leste, Roberto Carlos Hotel - Lospalos/Timor Leste, the Ministry of Tourism Commerce and Industry (MTCI).

Sport

The Dili Marathon, Timor-Leste Dive Club, Timor-Leste national football team, the Tour de Timor.

Society and Culture

Kafe Timor ( Café Timor/Timor Coffee), Justice NOW for East Timor's war crimes (1975-1999), East Timor Student In Java, Community District Manufahi Group, Timorese Students In The Philippines, I am Timorese, Schools of Esperanca in Atauro, Timor Leste, Friends of Lospalos, Amazing Timor Photographs, Baucau, TIMOR LESTE Pride!, Rede Feto and IT Ba Futuru. And here is a new one about Aussie commandos in Timor-Leste during WWII, Timor Sparrow Force.

Social Media and Telcoms

Social media relies on good service providers. Reflecting a general discontent with the monopoly held by Timor Telcom a host of anti-Timor Telcom Facebook pages and groups have appeared in the last 18 months.

Ijiji Aumenta tan operador Telekomunikasau iha Timor states in its leader that:

TT besik tinan 8 ona hari ‘i iha Timor maibe ne rede seidauk bele tama subdistritu hotu, nia kualidade rede la diak. Ijji atu aumenta tang operador 3 iha Timor. atu bele fo benefisiu diak ba timor oan tomak.

Its nearly 8 years that TT [Timor Telcom] in Timor but its network does not yet reach all subdistricts, the quality of the existing network is not good. Demand that 3 more operators are in Timor in order to be able to provider better service for Timorese.

Other Facebook groups opposed to the ongoing Telcom Timor monopoly include AKSAUN 50.000 PESOAS FACEBOOKERS ANTI TIMOR TELECOM (2,500 members), Why Timor Telecom sux?!, New Timor-Telecom's SLOGAN, to name just a few.

The future.

Certainly most people in Timor-Leste have no idea what Facebook is.

With poverty being endemic and internet access ridiculously poor Timorese are not yet “online”. One of Timor-Leste's most famous former FALINTIL resistance guerrillas, Lere Annan Timor, likes to joke that the first time he saw a computer in 1999 he thought it was a television.

Brigadier General Lere Annan Timor

However, there can be no doubt that the future of social media in Timor-Leste is going to be one of growth. As the access to technology expands the young population of Timor-Leste (with 50% being less than 17 years old) will take to it like ducks to water. As they are already.

Is a Twitter revolution next? Perhaps, as Timor Telcom is now advertising 3G networks coming soon in Dili, Baucau, Gleno, Aileu and Los Palos. Thats over half the population. There are already more than a few people in Dili with smart phones waiting for it to happen - not least of all the politicians. With a Blackberry Bold dropping in price from $600 in January 2010 to less than $300 in September 2010 - its just a matter of time before we see smart phones in the hands of people in the mountains. Just a matter of time. With rising salaries, a wave of public spending in play the cash to buy is increasingly there.

One has to wonder what social, political and economic change will occur as a result. While there has been a huge increase in the use of social media in Timor-Leste in the last 2 years its impact is likely quite minimal in the short term. But with a general election to be held in 2 years time there may be room yet for it to potentially play a role.

East Timor: Raging debate on “culture”

Janet Gunter — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 21:06:47 +0000

Blog Timor News Network has republished a Facebook debate which was kicked off in late July by Augusto da Silva who posted a well-crafted essay by Fidelis Maglhães, challenging Timorese usage of “culture”. Magalhães was responding to a photo of the people of a mountain town carrying the PM.

East Timor: Capital flooding in dry season

Janet Gunter — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 11:23:21 +0000

Radio Nomad of Notes from Abroad commented on serious flash flooding in East Timor's capital city Dili saying “it's the dry season, but someone forgot to tell Mother Nature”. Local online media outlet CJITL reported that the national TV station was down today due to the floods.

East Timor: Expansion of the Energy Sector under Discussion

Janet Gunter — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:07:49 +0000

The past months in East Timor have revealed serious tensions between Timorese leaders, Australia, and Woodside, the multinational company hoping to profit from new petroleum resources in Timorese territory.

Don Voelte, the CEO of Woodside Petroleum, visited Dili last month, and was not warmly received by the Timorese government including Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão. President Ramos Horta broke ranks from the Government and at least met with Voelte.

At issue is how to develop new petroleum resources in the Timor Sea south of the country.

East Timor was accruing revenue from taxes on oil exploitation in the Timor Sea south of its territory even before its formally recognized independence in 2002. The total tax revenue from this oil reserve is estimated to top out around $8 billion during the life of the oil reserve (discussed here).

Flickr User United Nations Photo, CC

But there is a potentially huge reserve of natural gas nearby in the Greater Sunrise field, and with increasing global demand for liquified natural gas (LNG), East Timor is hoping for a massive second windfall from the Timor Sea.

Timorese NGO La'o Hamutuk cites on its new blog Woodside's 2009 Annual Report in relation to the LNG

The Sunrise LNG Project involves the development of the Sunrise and Troubadour gas fields, collectively known as Greater Sunrise, located offshore, approximately 450 km north-west of Darwin, Northern Territory. […] The Governments of Timor–Leste and Australia will receive an equal share (50% each) of government upstream revenues from the development of the Greater Sunrise fields. This revenue will deliver long-term, stable and significant cash flow to Timor-Leste and Australia over approximately 30 years.

The Timorese Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão has implied that the future of Greater Sunrise is more than about business, that it is particularly historically significant, referring to the agreements between Australia and Indonesia during the forced occupation of the country that lasted for 24 years. Timorese news outlet Tempo Semanal recently described Gusmão reminding an audience in Dili [Tet]

Ho lampu verde xanana hatudu ba mapa area konjunta Timor leste ho Australia nia dehan, “iha ne’e area ida ne’ebe ita esplora hamutuk. Iha 1989, bainhira bapa sira sei kaer ita, dadur ita, oho ita, Ali Alatas ho Garreth Evans, Menlu Indonesia ho Australia sa’e aviaun ida, iha loos klaran ne’e, hemu tiha sampainia, fui ba ita nia ran leten hodi asina lima puluh persen ba Australia. Tan ba Australia rekonese integrasaun no lima puluh persen ba Indonesia tan nia simu integrasaun.”

Eis lider maximu da rezistensia iha luta ba libertasaun nasional Timor Leste ne’e reitera ho hatudu lampu verde ba area konjunta hodi dale, “Loloos ida ne’e hotu ita nian.”

With a green light, Xanana showed the joint area between Timor and Australia, saying “here is the area we will exploit together. In 1989, when the Indonesians were capturing us, imprisoning us, killing us, Ali Alatas and Gareth Evans, the Foreign Ministers from Indonesia and Australia got in a plane, and right over the middle here, they drank champagne, on top of our blood, to sign 50 percent for Australia. Because Australia recognized “integration” they got 50 percent from Indonesia.

The former leader of the resistance during the struggle for national liberation of Timor Leste reiterated, showing the area with a green light, “In truth this is all ours.”

Cartoon by Gus Leonisky from Your Democracy

The issue of the future pipeline and processing plant for the LNG has been the largest stumbling block between Australia and East Timor, and Woodside, the company with the largest share in the project. Under the Timor Sea Treaty, the development of the Greater Sunrise field is to be determined by the two countries. In late April, Woodside and partners announced their finding, that only two options were commercially viable, a floating processing plant or a pipeline to Australia, essentially rejecting a pipeline to East Timor's south coast.

East Timorese from all parties have pushed for an LNG pipeline and processing in East Timor, which they hope would generate jobs and economic development. Yet some take a more pragmatic approach, recognizing the complexity of the negotiation.

Another Timorese NGO Luta Hamutuk wrote in March [Tet], after having their loyalties questioned by the government,

Bainhira Luta Hamutuk halo vizita ba iha Viqueque, lideransa komunitariu nomos povu barak husu kona-ba posibilidade kadoras ba iha neba, tamba ofisiais guverno dala barak promete buat oi-oin iha neba nune to’o agora povu hein hela ho laran metin hodi simu kadoras. Problema lolos ne’e iha nebe? Bainhira guverno tun ba baze hateten tun-sae kona-ba kadoras atu mai ona; maibe realidade hatudu momos katak iha tensaun antre guverno Timor Leste ho Woodside nebe agora buat hotu sai la-klaru tiha.

When Luta Hamutuk visited Viqueque [District], community leaders and many people asked about the possibility of a pipeline to Viqueque, because many times government officials keep promising things there but until now people are still waiting resolutely to receive the pipeline. What exactly is the problem? The government visits the grassroots talking up the pipeline like it is already coming; but reality shows that there is tension between Timor Leste and Woodside such that things are still not yet clear.

Loron Económico, the only blog dedicated to economic analysis on Timor, discusses the emphasis on the “rapid expansion of the oil and gas sector” in the draft Strategic Development Plan currently being promoted by Gusmão. Blogger Lino Freitas writes [pt]

Quanto àquele pressuposto, ele parece ser de tal maneira forte e central a todo o Plano que qualquer “desaire” neste domínio — por exemplo, a não concretização a curto-médio prazo da instalação da fábrica de liquefacção do gás natural na costa sul do país — pode deitar por terra todo o “castelo” construído sobre essa base.

In relation to this assumption [the rapid expansion of the oil and gas sector], it appears to be so strong and central to the whole Plan that any kind of “snub” in this area — for example, the failure in the short to medium term to build a liquefied natural gas facility on the south coast of the country — could knock down to Earth the whole castle constructed on this foundation.

Yet freelance journalist and blogger Matt Crook observed earlier this month

The government of Timor-Leste continues to launch daggers at all things Woodside over development of Greater Sunrise. […] The government is obviously in no rush to go ahead with Greater Sunrise.

La'o Hamutuk blogged in late April when Woodside announced it would choose a floating LNG plant

La'o Hamutuk, as a Timorese organization which has followed this issue for many years, hopes that [the Greater Sunrise] project will give maximum benefit to the Timorese people. We are concerned that many commentators misrepresent the reality of the situation, which has economic, legal, technical and environmental aspects, not only politics.

This post was the second in a series of two on Timor's natural resource wealth. The first post looked at the issue of Timor's Petroleum Fund and budget allocations from oil revenue.

East Timor: Short Story Competition in Tetum

Sara Moreira — Fri, 21 May 2010 16:22:32 +0000

Istoria Timor Short Story Competition in Tetum language is running until the end of June. The concept notes from the previous edition offer an overview to literacy and language in East Timor and can be found in this post.